For many years I’ve enjoyed watching an occasional situational
comedy (sitcom) on TV. However, last Saturday on PBS (public
broadcasting) there was a “comedy” so “sick” that I had to turn it
off! First there was a Monty Python skit that featured a man trying to
give a cat in a carrying case the flu by repeatedly blowing his breath
on the cat. That was bad enough, but the next part was disgustingly
vicious: The man swung the cat around and around in the air and threw
it across the room.
This brought to mind a very traumatic time in our lives that I had
managed not to think about for a while: Teenagers, from the neighborhood
where we lived back then, had swung one of our cats who showed up at our
door with his tail broken and dragging on the ground. The veterinarian
had to amputate his tail.
This happened years ago when we were naïve and trusting, and would
let our cats go outdoors. Eventually, we learned to keep our cats
indoors. The result? They were happier, safer, and lived a lot longer.
We have noticed that there are too many “comedies” that border on
sadism or that are flat out sadistic. Somehow, I expected a little
better from PBS. Unfortunately, if anything, they appear to be getting
more insensitive in their choices of programming. Perhaps it is time to
stop donating money to this area’s public TV.
